It's been five months since I was diagnosed with an arterio-venous malformation in the brain. Since then my life has been a crash course in neurology…gamma knife, embolization, craniotomy, occlusion, obliteration, Spetzler grade, linear accelerator, nidus, intracranial…these words roll off my tongue as easily as I used to say, "A pint of Guinness, please!" Words that, sadly, I am no longer allowed to say. It's been 3 and a half months since I had gamma knife radiosurgery on my brain.
Before all of this happened (well, at least before I knew it had happened--I guess the AVM was there all my life--thanks mom) I could not keep a cell phone for more than a month before it was completely useless. As soon as it came in contact with my head I couldn't get a signal to save my life. I always suspected it was a cause and effect relationship, and that the proximity to my head was actually causing the cell phone dysfunction. Interestingly, I no longer have this problem, and secretly credit the radiation. Of course the neurosurgeon says that's impossible, and that I am neither radioactive nor in possession of any new and mysterious superpowers. I don't know why they are always trying to take away what little I still have.
So now I am able to chat away like everyone else, disconnected from my environment, cell phone glued to my hand…but I still haven't found anyone who wants to debate the virtues of proton beam treatment, or meet over a pint of Diet Coke.
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